PHILADELPHIA — A New Jersey couple is suing Amtrak, alleging negligence for a violent train crash.
Geralyn and Jonathan Ritter filed a complaint June 22 in tU.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against National Railroad Passenger Corporation, also known as Amtrak, alleging negligence.
According to the complaint, on May 12, 2015, Geralyn Ritter was a passenger on Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188 from Washington to New York. The suit says there is a particularly dangerous portion of track near Philadelphia but as the train approached this strip, the conductor failed to take necessary precautions and maintained a speed which was more than two times the speed limit, causing the train to derail, killing eight people and injuring more than 200.
The lawsuit states Ritter was thrown from her seat and sustained injuries, mental and emotional pain and suffering,. The suit says the plaintiff suffered loss of life's pleasures, as well as numerous psychological, psychiatric and neurological injuries and extensive medical expenses.
The Ritters seek damages of more than $150,000 for all compensatory and punitive damages, plus legal fees nd a jury trial. They are represented by attorneys Thomas R. Kline and Patrick J. Fitzgerald of Kline & Specter PC in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:15-cv-03478